small question what would be the chances that maytag would seperate from whirlpool?

[robbinsandmyers]

Pitman trans Maytags.......

Are like GE Monitor Tops. The fact so many are still in daily use after many decades is proof of their genius in design. They werent kidding back then with their slogan " The Dependability People ". The automotive equivalent would be the Mercedes 240D or Volvo 240.

 

[launderess]

What was wrong with later Maytag transmissions?

Or maybe I shouldn't ask...

 

[DADoES]

 
The Whirlpool transmission repair video above is only the neutral drain kit, and spin clutch which is external to the transmission.  All the other parts in the transmission were not discussed and/or removed.

This video covers more of it but still not quite everything.

6:00 the neutral drain plate is correctly called the rack retainer.  The screw anchors it to the main drive gear so the rack retainer rotates with the main drive gear whenever the motor runs.  The rack retainer is also present in spin-drain versions of the transmission, on which there is a spin pawl but not the other two neutral drain components, and the underside of the spin gear has a spring that fits on the hub instead of the toothed cam.

6:12 the spin gear pinion is driven by the larger plastic spin gear.  The notched top of it protrudes through the transmission cover (an oil seal is there) and the clutch drum mounts to it.  The spin gear is held stationary during agitation and neutral drain so the spin gear pinion and clutch drum accordingly also do not rotate.

6:22 is the connecting rack and is what makes the agitator shaft oscillate.

6:44 is the shift actuator and is what shifts the agitator gear cam to engage or disengage agitation according to which direction the motor is running.

6:51 is the main drive gear, which meshes to the input worm pinion/gear beneath it.

7:00 notice that the agitator gear cam parts are plastic.

7:06 the disc and ball comprise a thrust bearing for the agitator shaft.

7:25 the input worm pinion/gear (to which the motor coupler mounts) is not removable unless the oil seal on front exterior is removed.

9:49 the first neutral drain piece is the trip lever which is involved in resetting the mechanism during agitation for neutral drain that then follows.

10:11 the second piece placed on the rack retainer is the spin pawl which is what drives the spin gear.

10:16 the third longer metal piece is the latch which holds the spin gear cam from rotating during neutral drain, which in turn holds the spin pawl from driving the spin gear.

The spin gear cam is shown at 6:03 in Eugene's video above, on the underside of the spin gear.  The flat end of the spin pawl mates to any of the three protrusions (bosses) on the underside perimeter of the spin gear to drive it.  One of the three bosses (the one at the bottom by his thumb) has a little button molded into it which bumps the trip lever and is involved in the neutral drain reset process during agitation (10 bumps does the reset).

 

[gelaundry4ever]

maytag centennial

So what makes the centennial direct drive better than the whirlpool direct drive?

 

[DADoES]

 
Nothing, unless perhaps the Centennial model of question has a stainless steel basket.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

100 degree arc agitation claim

So how did Maytag centennial get that 100 degree agitation arc claim when it's just another whirlpool?

 

[DADoES]

 
Jerome, direct-drive agitation stroke is 100 degrees.  That has been discussed in the past.

I quoted this to you in a discussion in August 2021 and am citing it again now directly (including a typo) from the L-46 Design 2000 Direct Drive Washer training manual dated 1981:

Agitate Speed:
  177-181 Strokes Per Minutes High Speed
  118-122 Strokes Per Minute Low Speed (2 Speed Machines)
  100° [degree symbol] Arc

All direct-drive transmissions are the same gearing and produce the same speeds and stroke arc regardless of what brand washer is involved.

High agitation is typically stated as 180 strokes per minute.

Low is typically stated as 120 strokes per minute.

There wasn't an extra-low speed in 1981, it came in later.  Extra-low is 88 to 92 strokes per minute and is typically stated as 90 strokes per minute.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

maytag centennial

It's amazing to me that the "maytag centennial" label would be slapped on a whirlpool direct drive,when they could've eliminated the name altogether. To me, the 100 degree agitation arc sounds a bit much for that design. I don't know how whirlpool did that.
Why couldn't they just use 100 strokes per minute at high instead of 180 strokes per minute. Somebody told me that the agitation was a 90 degree arc.

 

[DADoES]

 
Centennial is of course reference to the 100th anniversary of Maytag washers, which I believe happened in 2007 after Whirlpool bought Maytag in 2006, so they reasonably and legitimately used the term for marketing purposes.

You'd have to ask the engineering team that developed the direct-drive transmission for the details on their design decisions.  They surely did testing on the performance at a range of parameters to settle on the end result.

Now you know that whoever it was that told you the stroke arc is 90 degrees was wrong about that.  It's a whole 10 degrees more.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Whirlpool/Maytag

It seems to me when Maytag claimed to have an upgraded transmission and stainless steel drum, they were using the Whirlpool direct drive with the Maytag name on it. I guess I can correct whoever told me it was 90 degrees. I think the Centennials used whirlpool oil when they claim to use synthetic transmission oil.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

maytag with whirlpool cycle characteristics

At least the Maytag Centennial maintained the cycle characteristics.

 

[sgt10]

No going back

You cannot reconstruct Maytag as it was dismantled (with the name kept to deploy as needed). The factory and management no longer exist in Newton Iowa and the town was crushed post Whirlpool acquisition. What remains of the factory building was put to use in making wind turbines, but I don’t think this was a success. A more or less familiar tale of the fate of manufacturing in the Midwest. Very sad to see the demise of the town and the effect on employees.

 

[qsd-dan]

I chatted up with a guy whose grandparents worked at the Maytag factory in Newton up until it closed. He said after Whirlpool bought Maytag, they refused to honor the retirement plans as promised for the Maytag employees and everybody got screwed. Needless to say, the town isn't found of Whirlpool.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

maytag

It's obvious that whirlpool plans to keep maytag now that they've been gobbled up.

 

[launderess]

By most standards Whirlpool's merger/purchase of Maytag has been a success. Yes, there was pain that was spread around, but there would have been more had Maytag simply gone bankrupt, or was purchased by anyone else including Haier.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...succeeds-defies-critics-idUSN1224608220080212

https://www.deseret.com/2006/5/11/19952724/whirlpool-to-eliminate-4-500-jobs

https://money.cnn.com/2006/03/29/news/companies/maytag/

Romancing about Maytag's great past is all very well, but leave us not forget what brought that company so low a merger with arch rival became necessary. Quite frankly Maytag was going down the toilet due to many bad (ok, horrible) decisions by management plus changing nature of market.

Ralph Hake, former CEO of Maytag walked away with at least $12 million in payments. Maytag employees and retirees however things were a mixed bag.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

maytag/whirlpool

Maytag's neptunes, Atlantis, and the Performa designs were the ones that caused the company to go downhill, eventually leading to the whirlpool designed maytags.

 

[DADoES]

 
The original Neptune frontloader had some problems that they corrected through changes as production went along.  The resultant products were reasonably good.

The larger-capacity Neptunes (MAH6700, MAH8700, MAH9700, etc.) of course were sourced from Samsung.

The Neptune TL, interesting though it may be, ended as a quick failure.

Atlantis and Performa (Norge-tags and Amana-tags, although very similar) were not Maytag designs, but were what they had to offer for larger-capacity toploaders to compete with oher brands.

Of course Whirlpool dropped those designs.  What is the reasonable need to maintain many other platforms when the LEAP direct-drive had proven successful for 25 years?

 

[maytag85]

Unfortunately it’s the damned Neptune machines along with those NorgeTag machines that ruined Maytag’s reputation. Maytag should have NEVER bothered with EITHER off those machines/designs along with buying Norge, Magic Chef, Hardwick, Admiral, and Hoover since those companies ruined their own reputation as well. Hoover basically was high and mighty for many years then started cutting corners which eventually led to their demise, Hoover sold tons of vacuums over the years but don’t see many out in the wild anymore unless it’s a collector or someone who appreciates vintage stuff. Kirby was like Maytag, they didn’t sell as many machines as their competitors in their day but you still see tons of older Kirby’s out there along with Maytag’s since that’s how over-built they were.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

HE craze

And you can thank the HE craze for this as well. All of this caused a giant mess of problems. When these new front load washers of any brand including maytag wash, it looks like there's no water in it at all.

 

[panasonicvac]

I loved Maytag's Neptune machines, at least their front loaders. We had a Neptune set before and it was fantastic! I wished we still had them, but my grandfather still has his Neptune stacked set up at his cabin. It's just as good as the set that we used to have. If the set breaks before my grandfather goes, I would try and convince him to have it fixed. If I would've known better, I wished I would've convinced my grandfather to have someone fix his old Maytag top load washer from 1982 at his house instead of buying this that he now uses. I never liked it honestly, I'd take his Neptune or his old top loader anyday. Or I'd replace it with something else like a Speed Queen. But I definitely don't have anything against the dryer, I think it's good honestly and I'd also try to convince him to fix it as well if it ever does break. On a side note, I even loved the Hoovers that were made by Maytag like the Windtunnels. I didn't liked how shortly after TTI (Techtronic Industries) acquired Hoover from Whirlpool was they've cheapened the original Windtunnels like the motors.